Conditions Right For Ocean City Tuna Tournament

OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) -- Organizers say the conditions are right for this weekend's Ocean City Tuna Tournament.

Tournament director Jennifer Blunt says the talk at the dock is about how plentiful tuna is this year. Blunt says bad weather last summer discouraged many smaller boats from participating.

Marty Gary, a fisheries ecologist for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, says water temperatures are keeping bluefin tuna nearby this year. Gary says bluefin often head north for colder seas, but swaths of cold water have kept them near Ocean City.

Meanwhile, yellowfin, which enjoy warmer water, are being found in the Gulf stream farther out.

Last year's heaviest single tuna won more than $64,000 and the boat with the most tuna overall won more than $162,000.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)